A drone attack on a mosque in central Sudan’s North Kordofan state has killed two children and wounded at least 13 others, medical sources said Wednesday, highlighting a fresh escalation in the country’s brutal civil war.

The Sudan Doctors Network, a local medical monitoring group, reported that the strike occurred at dawn in al-Rahad city, hitting the Sheikh Ahmed al-Badawi Mosque while children were studying the Quran. The association described the attack as a “dangerous escalation in a pattern of repeated violations against civilians and places of worship.”

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), engaged in a three-year war against the Sudanese Armed Forces, has been blamed for the strike. There has been no immediate comment from the RSF.

The incident comes amid a broader surge in drone and aerial attacks on civilian areas, particularly in Kordofan, which has become one of the most volatile frontlines in Sudan’s ongoing conflict. According to the United Nations, recent weeks have seen numerous drone strikes inflict scores of civilian casualties, with medical facilities and other non-combatant targets repeatedly struck.

Only days earlier, another RSF drone attack hit a vehicle carrying displaced families in central Sudan, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, the Sudan Doctors Network said, underscoring the growing toll on civilians trying to flee the fighting.

Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023 when tensions between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces erupted into open conflict shortly after a failed transition to civilian rule. The United Nations estimates that the war has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced more than 12 million, although independent analysts say the true toll may be significantly higher.

The conflict has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with widespread displacement, famine-like conditions in parts of Darfur and Kordofan, and repeated attacks on health facilities, schools, markets and places of worship. Humanitarian organizations have documented attacks on dozens of mosques and churches, medical centers, and refugee sites since the violence began.

The Sudan Doctors Network condemned the mosque strike in the strongest terms, saying attacks on children and religious sites constitute clear violations of international humanitarian law. The group reiterated its appeal to the international community, the United Nations and human rights organizations to press for civilian protection, open safe corridors for aid deliveries, and hold perpetrators accountable.

Aid agencies have warned that without a ceasefire and increased protection for civilians, the humanitarian situation could deteriorate further, with millions at risk from hunger, disease and displacement. (ILKHA)